If you hate seeing buys reported as sells etc!!!!!!
Has already been sent to Martin Lewis, Daily Mail, Moneyweek & Watchdog.
New chancellor, shaddow chancellor, most MP's & the Stock Exchange aim committee.
If you follow tweeters etc, send it to them please!

If this petition doesn't reach 10,000; then imo we might as well have not bothered as it will almost certainly be filed B1N; @ 10,000 the government should respond.as well as
So , If you haven't yet signed or indeed have but haven't passed it on to others, then now's the time to do so.

As we enter the final 3 weeks before REX is eaten up by Ball, I wanted to compare my take with others who still hold. I may be wrong on some points.

The default action is 407p in cash and 0.04568 Ball shares per REX share. An alternative is 610p with a meagre top up of an uncertain amount of cash/Ball shares.

I reckon that for anyone holding less than 2,000 shares it is not worth taking either offer and it is better to sell at best price in the market, reason being that you would end up with too small a quantity of Ball shares to be a viable investment. You have up until and including June 23rd to trade/decide.

I have 2,400 shares and it is my intention to take the default offer which will result in £9,768 in cash plus the cash that relates to a fraction of one Ball share in the offer, call it £32, totalling £9,800. It will also give me 109 Ball shares, currently worth USD7,848 (based on a Ball sp of USD72) which at the current rate of Cable (1.4430/0.693) equates to £5,438.

So that is a grand total of £9,800 + £5,438 = £15,238 compared to 2,400 x 627p (current sp) = £15,048, better by £190. Of course this will vary depending on the exchange rate and the future performance of Ball.

I think Ball is a good investment and good political and currency hedge.

I post this partially in order to help others and partially for others' advice as, despite thinking I understand the offer, I may not have done so!

OT, youdid very well glencore cannot see one repeating that very often? I personally don't see a recovery in the mining sector this year. As you point out it is a big gamble, I for one am not looking for any more big gables at present. I already have enough in this sector showing a big loss will keep Rex for now as they are up since last post. When is settlement day for T/O

Given the state of the market you are probably best off taking profits from this share and looking for value in stocks which have gone down recently. There is probably a 5% upside here over the next few months. I sold yesterday and put the holding into Glencore (which I have just sold after a 15% rise today). I'm looking at bombed out mining and energy stocks as potential recovery plays. It's a big gamble to get into that sector but the time to buy is when everybody else has sold.

The reason that it's not trading higher is mainly due to uncertainties in the market. If you have followed this share you will find it is one of the few that has increased in value recently despite the market falls.

Since both the value of the US dollar and Ball shares are changing daily the value of the offer will change.
At the time of writing £1.00 = $1.4171
Ball share price = $69.34
Therefore the offer is currently priced at 407 p + 223 p (based on current value in sterling of the Ball shares) = 630 p

Another reason is UK investors will not want the shares in Ball Corporation as these are US stocks.

I would be interested to know where you read that the deal had been approved. I'm a bit surprised since if you are right then why are the shares trading at 602 and not much closer to the 640 you suggest ( 628 plus 12 divi) ?

It's good to see that the deal with Ball has gained regulatory approval. Based on the current exchange rates and Ball Share price this values the takeover at 628 p per share. Assuming some recovery in Balls share price over the next few weeks it could be worthwhile holding on to these a little longer. There will probably be a final dividend of around 12p per share for this year which usually goes ex-dividend at around the end of April for payment at the end of May.

I'm thinking of selling my holding as these have done well in the recent downturn and I'm looking for some alternatives to Buy.

On 19 February 2015, the boards of Ball Corporation ("Ball") and Rexam PLC ("Rexam") announced the terms of a recommended cash and share offer by Ball UK Acquisition Limited ("Bidco"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ball, for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Rexam (the "Offer Announcement").

Today, Ball confirms that the European Commission has entered into a period of market testing based upon commitments proposed by Rexam and Ball. These commitments have been proposed with a view to obtaining EU Commission clearance of the previously announced offer by Ball for Rexam (the "Offer").

As a result of this development, the European Commission's review timetable is automatically extended to 22 January, 2016.

Ball expects that all necessary regulatory clearances will be obtained to enable the proposed acquisition to close during the first half of 2016. Following closing of the transaction, Ball will remain a New York Stock Exchange listed company domiciled in the U.S.

Reasonable drop on Friday and the end-of-day auction traded 75% of the total daily volume.
Looks like a decent level to enter if one believes the Ball takeover will go through.

Anyone out there heard anything further from either Rexam or Ball or seen any analyst comments on the overall probability of the deal going through, any regulatory issues etc?
Also, do we know if the next dividend payment from Rexam is secured or is at risk?

Interesting question. I think though that even if the deal was certain that there would be a significant discount as the payout could be up to a year away. I would tend to agree that the downside is circa 500p and at the current exchange rate the deal is worth 625p plus 1 year dividends of 17.7p giving say 643p. The question is the cost of capital but if you use 10% you end up with the current share price so I would suggest that while not a certainty the market believes that this has a very high probability of success.

On the basis that two divis will be forthcoming, I think it worth the wait . If it goes through it is worth £4k more to me than the current value of REX shares.

Rexams board has recommended a cash and shares offer from US rival Ball Corporation, a deal that would create a powerhouse in the production of drinks cans with annual revenues of $15bn.
Ball will pay 610p a share for the smaller UK-based manufacturer, comprising 407p in cash and 0.04568 shares in Ball.
Since advanced talks between the worlds largest drinks can makers were revealed earlier this month, shares in Colorado-based Ball have risen to the point that the current offer is equivalent to 635p per share in Rexam.

The deal values Rexam at £4.4bn and Ball will also assume about £1bn worth of Rexams debt.
But the transaction is expected to face a thorough review from competition authorities in both the EU and the US. It is not expected to be completed until the first half of next year.
A combined company would control about 61 per cent of the market for drinks cans in North America, according to analysts. In Europe, Rexam and Ball would have a combined market share of about 69 per cent, and about 74 per cent in Brazil.
Ball said it could back out of the deal if antitrust regulators required it to sell assets generating more than $1.58bn in turnover. In the event of the deal not going through, a break fee of up to £302m would be payable, it said.
The two companies sought to ease concerns among investors who questioned whether the deal would get past antitrust authorities.
John Hayes, chief executive and chairman of Ball, said: Weve spent a significant amount of time evaluating the regulatory issues, and we believe there is a clear route to obtaining the approvals.
Graham Chipchase, Rexam chief executive, said: The Rexam board would not have accepted that offer unless there was a clear route to get this approved.
The brewers are consolidating as well. Theyre becoming quite powerful&#8201;.&#8201;.&#8201;.&#8201;Our customers are big enough to look after themselves, he added, noting that some of the drinks groups manufacture their own cans, which reduces the power of can makers.
Analysts believe Ball would be required to sell assets in all regions to address competition concerns. US-based Crown, the third-largest beverage can maker with a global market share of 19 per cent, could be one of the main beneficiaries of any asset sales.
A deal would make strategic sense because of complementary manufacturing footprints. Rexam, which produces about 60bn cans a year for drinks companies including PepsiCo, AB InBev and Carlsberg, is strong in emerging markets such as Russia and India, while Ball has a presence in China, Vietnam and Myanmar.
Mr Chipchase said Rexam had consulted with all of its customers and there was widespread approval of the deal because of the geographic benefits of an optimised footprint.
Ball said the combined company would have revenues of about $15bn and 22,500 employees. News of the deal came as Rexam reported full-year pre-tax profits of £343m, up from £339m in 2013, which it described as a good performance in a difficult year.
Mr Chipchase said there would be a range of retention measures to keep people in place after the merger, but added: Its far too early to speculate on my future.
Its about ensuring the beverage can industry is sufficiently strong so it can reinvest in capex&#8201;.&#8201;.&#8201;.&#8201;and innovation.

I don' have enough shares really to make a holding in a $ share, in a company I have never heard of ( and admit to not having done any research on), worthwhile.

I feel that the U.S. company will just be another complexity that I wish to avoid getting involved in since it will be a fraction of my current £10k holding in REX, and just dealing in $ seems to me unweildy.

So I will sell, but so far I seem to have the (wrong ?) impression that the price will be over 600 soon. I should say that my REX cost is 510 so I am well-pleased at the rescue by the recent turn of events.

According to the prospectus that I get today, there will be, and I quote:

"Ball will provide a Mix & Match Facility which will all Rexam Ordinary shareholders to elect, subject to offsetting elections, to vary the proportions in which they receive New Ball shares and cash. Ball and Rexam will work together to seek to address costs of holding and dealing in Ball shares for certain Rexam Ordinary shareholders."

I hope this means that we can get cash instead of Ball shares. According to the prospectus, the value of the combined offer is 610p made up of 407p cash and .04568 of a new Ball share per Rexam Ordinary shre held.

Yet again an offer that includes US traded shares! This time it's 35%! In my experience the hurdles to deal in these US quoted shares far outweighs any future gains in the new enlarged organisation. Think Vodafone/Verizon! Para. 23 in prospectus says they will seek to address this problem. Not a very encouraging sign to avoid Medallion Guarantees, Nationality Declarations et al . Why not a straight cash offer. May be I am a cynic but Rexam shareholders will just hang on to Ball shares until some solicitors/accountant tries to sort the mess out when we depart! The only winner is Ball. Small shareholders should not accept the offer but what influence do they sway on a 75% acceptance threshhold.

I don't understand why this is thought of as a good thing. Another successful company lost to UK ownership. In good years the lion's share of the profits will go to the USA, in bad it will be our workers made redundant. Why is it not Rexam buying out Ball's? Why didn't the Board make a stand against this as did Astra Zeneca? I stand to make a bit of money out of this deal in the short term but I am certainly not rejoicing!

What are the ramifications of accepting the offer and holding the Ball shares? Since part of the offer would be controlled by the price of Ball what might happen to the Ball price after the deal goes through. How easy would it be to sell the Ball shares?

I am sure Questor's inches will, in the next few days, end with - " Questor first recommended these back in September 14 when they were 510 and since then".....( been down to 440)..."shareholders have enjoyed an 8% rise - Q recommends a Hold etc etc.

In recommending a 'sell' I admit I did not consider a takeover bid. My view is that the rumoured £6 per share offer significantly over values the company and anyone offering it must be mad! So if I held these shares I would get out now, but as you can see I have been wrong before.

"Talk that LSE:REX:Rexam was vulnerable to a takeover has been rumbling on for a while. Now it turns out there was substance to the rumour as US giant NYSE:BLL:Ball Corporation appears ready to cough up Â£4.2 billion for the British company which ..."

The Board of Rexam notes the recent media speculation and confirms that it is in discussions with Ball Corporation ("Ball"), which may or may not lead to a formal offer being made for Rexam. The proposal values Rexam at 610 pence per each Rexam share based on a consideration of approximately two thirds in cash and one third in new Ball shares. Discussions on other matters are continuing and there can be no certainty any formal offer will be forthcoming, or as to the terms of any offer.
A further announcement will be made when appropriate.
In accordance with Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, Ball is required, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 5 March 2015, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the Company in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline can be extended with the consent of the Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code.
For the purposes of Rule 2.5 of the Code, this announcement has not been made with the consent of Ball.
In accordance with Rule 2.10 of the Code, the Company announces that, as at the date of this announcement, it has 704,816,154 ordinary shares of 80 (5) / (14) pence each in issue and admitted to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The International Securities Identification Number for the ordinary shares is GB00BMHTPY25. Rexam has an American Depositary Receipts ("ADR") programme for which The Bank of New York Mellon acts as depositary and transfer agent. Each ADR share represents five Rexam ordinary shares. The ADRs trade in the over the counter market. The trading symbol for these securities is REXMY and the ISIN is US7616556046.
A copy of this announcement will be available at www.rexam.com.
The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

Rexam may be left with one core business of aluminium cans, but it has a geographical reach. I wouldn't say that it is a 'no growth' business either. The new factory in Switzerland and the new venture in Panama should produce some growth, and the new factory in Brazil opened in 2013 will still be growing I expect.
It is a rather boring business, but I would be happy to buy in at a P/E of 10, so if it reaches 400p I will probably invest.

Yeah good point. I don't know why companies, MOST companies are so stupidly managed like that. They do all the share buy backs and divvy increases at the peak of markets and have nothing in the pot for the rainy day. 60% of companies seem to be like that! It does my head in.

I would argue that this share is overvalued, rather than being 'fair value'. It has sold the family silver and is left with only its one core business of aluminium cans. Having recently sold a business for several million it used the money to buy back its own shares, rather than reduce debt. Now it cannot really continue the buy back programme without going further into debt, so it cannot use this mechanism to inflate EPS. I forecast that earnings will be flat in 2015 and a 'no growth' business should have a P/E of 8 or 9, not higher. I expect the share price to be below 400p in twelve months time.

Thankyou Games. I can see that this might be a several year hold and I probably got in too soon. I paid 449p. However, I think with you that we are not a million miles from fair value and a 4+% yield is a comfort while we wsit.

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